More Articles

The State Highway Patrol trooper who was involved last summer with a drunken-driving stop on
I-71 in Delaware County in which the intoxicated man was later killed has been fired from the
patrol.

Sean Carpenter, 38, was fired from the patrol on April 24 for conduct unbecoming of an officer,
failing to perform his duty by not arresting the intoxicated man, and making a false statement
during the investigation into his actions. He has challenged that decision, and his case is now in
arbitration, a spokeswoman for the patrol said yesterday.

Carpenter is serving in the military, and a date for his arbitration hearing has not been set,
said the spokeswoman, Lt. Anne Ralston.

Carpenter was convicted in December of being derelict in his duties as an officer because he did
not arrest the intoxicated man.

On July 28, Carpenter and two Delaware County deputy sheriffs found the man, Uriel Popoca, on a
median on I-71 near the Rts. 36/37 interchange in Delaware County. Popoca spoke Spanish, but little
English, and the officers can be heard making fun of his speech in footage from their dashboard
cameras.

The officers left Popoca, 22, at a Taco Bell on Rts. 36/37, saying someone there would
understand his Spanish. Popoca left the restaurant and started walking down the highway. He was
struck and killed by a passing driver.

The two deputies, Derek Beggs and Christopher Hughes, were fired from the Delaware County
sheriff’s office in February. Beggs was also convicted of dereliction of duty. Both Beggs and
Carpenter have filed appeals seeking to overturn their convictions.

Hughes pleaded guilty in December to failing to aid a law-enforcement officer.